6. Kaylor
6
KAYLOR
I all but ran back to my room, Evan’s shadow not far behind me, but I paid the guard little attention, slamming the door shut and leaning against it. My breathing ragged, I stared at the phone in my hand, the empty contact list taunting me. It felt like my entire world was slipping further and further away each day, and I could do nothing to stop it.
I let out a half growl, half scream of frustration, the back of my head hitting the wood, and then I blindly hurled the phone across the room. When the shattering crash never came, I shoved off the door, searching for where the device landed.
It sat cushioned on the messy bed, nestled into a pile of rumpled blankets.
Go figure.
I couldn’t even throw a fit properly and break shit. But in hindsight, it was probably better I hadn’t smashed the stupid phone in a fit of rage.
Burying my face into my hands, I made the air in my lungs move in and out with slow, steady breaths. I was losing my fucking mind.
No. That wasn’t entirely accurate. I was losing myself, piece by piece. And transferring to Elmwood Public?
Elmwood Public!
Was he serious?
I wouldn’t last a week at Public.
I hadn’t even gotten to address the whole guard thing. I had a mind to march right back into his office. Perhaps he should make sure his sons stayed away from me. Not the other way around. How would Donovan feel about Maddox stumbling drunk into my room in the middle of the night?
I was itching for a fight.
I wanted to scream. Yell. Curse. Break shit.
I had to get the fuck out of here. That was clear.
After a quick sulk in the shower, I formulated a plan. I did my best scheming in the bathroom. I spent the rest of my day roaming the house, learning the layout, taking note of the exit points, the security cameras, and the number of staff, which, surprisingly was less than I initially thought. I only noted Evan, Amelia, and two men outside.
I was no expert at casing out a joint or whatever thieves did. I’d never done something like this before. Never had to. My parents had been easygoing. As long as I told them where I was, they were cool. No lies. That had been our only rule. They didn’t lie to me. And I didn’t lie to them.
Glancing at the notes I took in my new phone, courtesy of my oh-so-generous godfather, I reviewed what I’d jotted down. I only had the second floor left. Jogging up the stairs, I bypassed my room, inspecting the ceiling. I wouldn’t put it past Donovan to have cameras or audio devices in the bedrooms. I planned to do a sweep of mine once I finished here, just to be sure. I wouldn’t be able to sleep under this roof if I thought someone might be listening or watching me.
Creepy as fuck.
I made it halfway down the hall when I noticed the door at the end had been left open. The other three, excluding mine, were closed.
My curiosity was going to get me in so much trouble. I shouldn’t go anywhere near Donovan’s sons’ rooms. And yet…
A force beyond rationality pulled me toward the door. I hovered over the threshold, my fingers bracing on the frame as I glanced inside.
Chewing on my lip, I stared at the deep-gray, moody room. The bed was unmade, but whoever’s room this was had left the dangling pendants overhead on, creating a warmth in the otherwise cold space. Books lined the wall across from the bed from floor to ceiling, and a loveseat in a slightly lighter gray sat in front of the shelves with a laptop tossed onto a cushion.
As an avid reader, I couldn’t stop from walking inside. It was like a magnet pulled me toward the books. I scanned the titles, finding such a range of genres, some of them surprising. My finger ran along the spines, stopping on a book that had been on my Tbr list for some time. I pulled it out and thumbed through the pages.
“Don’t let Kreed catch you in his room.”
I whirled, and the book fell from my hands, thudding to the floor and nearly landing on my toes. An injured toe was the least of my concerns. At first, I thought it might be Evan who I’d spent the last hour dodging in and out of rooms, yet he constantly found me. He never questioned me or interfered, but I felt his eyes.
It wasn’t Evan leaning on a wall, watching me.
Ugh. The drunk jackass from last night.
“I’m Mason,” he said, a twisted smirk on his lips.
Mason? Was he fucking with me? Did he think I wouldn’t remember last night? Or maybe it was him who couldn’t remember. “I’m not stupid, you know. I’m good with faces.”
His brows drew together, an expression of confusion descending into his handsome features. “I never said you were stupid.”
“Maddox. That’s your name. I’m sure you were too drunk last night to remember what happened.”
He chuckled in a carefree way. “So, you’ve already met my brother. My twin brother.”
I blinked. He looked so much like Maddox. “Wait. There are two of you?”
He winked. “Double the pleasure.”
“I was thinking more like double the trouble,” I mumbled.
“That too. But I usually let Mad create the problems. I’m the nice one.” He flashed a grin that I didn’t doubt made panties drop all over the world.
My eyes narrowed as I stared at him, my mind still wrapping around the fact there were two of them. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at school.”
He reached for something on the nearby desk. “I forgot something.”
“This is Kreed’s room?” I asked, glancing around again with a new perspective.
Mason tilted his head slightly, arching a brow. “It is.”
I picked a book off the shelf. “He reads?”
His lips twitched, and he tucked whatever he grabbed into his back pocket. “I see that surprises you.”
Scowling, I flipped through the pages before putting the book back. “Among other things.”
His eyes lingered on me, assessing me as I leaned against the side of the desk. “He got to you, didn’t he?”
“Who?” My attempt at feigning ignorance was a shit performance.
The perpetual curve of his lips deepened. “Kreed. He has that effect on people.”
My nose wrinkled. “What effect would that be?”
Mason shrugged. “You’re prettier in person than in your pics.”
It wasn’t lost on me that he smoothly shifted the conversation away from Kreed and put it on me. Regardless, I took the bait. “What pics?”
“The ones online you post.”
I blinked, unsettled by the thought of them stalking me online, but then again, I’d done the same to their father without much success. “You looked me up?”
“We were curious about the girl moving in. You would too.”
I shot him a dirty look. “There’s a line between intrigue and stalking.”
He chuckled. “Oh, Kreed’s going to love you. You’re just his type.”
I squared my shoulders. “Not interested. In any of you,” I added quickly, catching the way his brow lifted in amusement.
A slow smile spread across his face, something unreadable flickering in his expression. “Everyone’s interested in us.” Mason’s smirk didn’t falter. He shoved off the desk, his eyes steady on mine as he sauntered closer.
Arrogant much? I glanced at the door, remembering Donovan’s warning. “I should go. I shouldn’t be in here.”
He caught my wrist, his thumb pressing into my racing pulse. “Running away so soon?”
I took a step back. “Can you blame me?”
“How’s the arm?” he asked, his eyes moving to my other shoulder.
“It hurts like hell.” It was the truth. I’d overdone it today, and suddenly I was so blasted exhausted.
“Perhaps next time I’ll catch you in my room. And don’t worry.” He winked. “You’re secret’s safe with me.”
Yanking my hand out of his hold, I brushed past Mason, rushing into the hallway. His amused demeanor trailed me into my room. I didn’t want to like any of the Corvos. It was better if I didn’t. Easier. Yet, something about Mason… Damn if I didn’t find myself alone in my room with a hint of a smile on my lips. He had a presence about him as if everything in the world was a joke to him.
That was three of the four I’d met. Thank God the eldest was away at college. I couldn’t have handled all four of them in one house.
I shook the stupid thoughts from my head and pulled out my phone. It took some time, but I managed to get into my email and then into my social media accounts. The problem with storing logins and passwords was that I forgot them most of the time. Just another small thing I took for granted.
As I scrolled to find my friends’ socials, I came across a news article about another missing girl from Elmwood. This would be the third in the last six months. There were speculations that there was a sex trafficking ring in Elmwood. I couldn’t even imagine. Not in Elmwood.
A shiver raced down my spine as I stared at her picture. She couldn’t have been much older than me. Younger perhaps. Crystal Martin. I didn’t know her, but she could have easily been Kenny or me.
The thought too depressing, I went to search for my friends, knowing they were more likely to check their socials than their emails. I sent Carson and Kenny a message, telling them I needed to see them. Tonight. I had no money and no credit card on me, so an Uber was out of the question. I told them to message me their phone numbers and go to Elmwood Public at midnight. It was the closest landmark I could think of, considering it would be my new school. I’d call them to get me once I figured out where the fuck I was.
Now I just had to sneak out undetected.
Shouldn’t be impossible. It wasn’t like this house was Fort Knox.
I waited until the darkness blanketed the sky and the house grew silent. I didn’t know Donovan or his household well enough to know their schedule, but I figured any time after midnight had to be safe. Of course, there were the security cameras and Evan to deal with, but I had a plan.
Getting outside wasn’t the hard part. The bigger obstacle was getting off the grounds to call my friends.
Outside my bedroom window, the four-seasons room’s roof sat just below. All I had to do was open the window, climb onto the roof, and crawl to the tree at the far corner. Its branches hung over the roof, tapping and scraping along the shingles.
Leaving my room to sneak out required more skill and planning with Evan lingering in the hall. This way, I could avoid the guard, and hopefully, by the time the cameras picked me up, I’d be sprinting through the grass.
Fully dressed in black, thanks to the closet of new clothes, I wedged open the window and shimmied the screen out of place, propping it against the wall in my room. Quite the fucking task when you had only one good arm. I dragged the chair from my desk to the window and climbed up, slipping through the window. Sitting on the ledge, I swung my feet out before dropping onto the roof. Because I wasn’t fabulous with heights, I crouched down, using my hand to steady myself.
I got to the edge near the tree without a problem. The branches were thick enough that they should hold my weight without a problem. I just had to get my leg over and shimmy down to the trunk. From there, it was a quick jump to the ground.
Easy-peasy.
Except, it wasn’t.
Everything went wrong.
Especially when I remembered I was really only working with one arm.
What the hell am I thinking?
I was too far gone to back out now. I had to commit.
I hooked my leg over the branch, my fingers secured on the wood. So far, so good until I started to slide down. I wasn’t sure what happened. One minute, the bark was tugging on my jeans, and the next…
I fell on my ass.
Hard.
As if my body hadn’t already been through some shit the last week. I had to go and torment it some more. It took a few moments before I could move, my brain catching up to the fact I’d fallen out of a tree.
“Just great,” I grumbled, pushing to my feet and brushing off my hands. If it hadn’t been for the grass, I would have more than a bruised ass, and luckily, the ground wasn’t frozen solid yet.
The moon hung low in the sky, its pale light casting long, jagged shadows across the lawn and the woods bordering the house. My breath fogged in the cool night air as I crept through the backyard, the soft crunch of damp grass beneath my sneakers barely audible over the hammering of my heart.
The time I’d spent memorizing the layout, every hallway, every exit, and every camera angle paid off. Here I was just steps away from freedom. I could taste it.
The front gate was out of the question, which meant I had to scale the stone wall at the edge of the yard. It stood in front of me, dark and unyielding as I approached. Beyond it, my friends waited just a phone call away, ready to help me figure out what to do next. I rubbed my chilled fingers together, the adrenaline coursing through my veins drowning out the whispers of doubt.
Could I do this? The wall was suddenly daunting as it loomed in front of me.
There was only one way to find out.
As I moved closer, a voice sliced through the stillness. “Leaving so soon? And before we got a chance to get to know one another.”
I froze, my blood turning cold. Slowly, I turned to see a figure emerge from the shadows near the house. Even before a slice of moonlight cut across his face, I knew which Corvo had caught me. His voice. It wasn’t one I would likely forget despite how much I might wish to.
Kreed.